Greenpeace to close the internet

Isnt it a bugger when fluffy envirotard ideas run up against reality. The ABC is carrying this story:

Internet giants powered by coal, Greenpeace says

The “cloud” of data that is becoming the heart of the internet is creating an all-too-real cloud of pollution as Facebook, Apple and others build data centres powered by coal, Greenpeace says in a new report.

 

Greenpeaces head of tech, yesterday.

Wonderful, Greenpeace have finally made the link between advanced technology and energy, lets see where that leads them.

The organisation argues that web companies should be more careful about where they build and should lobby more for clean energy.

  

Oh I see youd like them to increase their overheads by using more expensive power options, and do your propagandizing for you….good luck with that swampy.

Cheap and plentiful, coal is the top fuel for US power plants, and its low cost versus alternative fuels makes it attractive, even in highly energy-efficient data centres.

Apple, Facebook, Microsoft Corp, Yahoo Inc and Google Inc have at least some centres that rely heavily on coal power, Greenpeace said.

  

Hmmm huge, profitable and highly competitive,  why I bet they are just lining up to sign up to power which isnt even reliable to provide base load, after all Im sure customers wont mind hours of the “Blue screen of death” if its for Gaia….

Most of the companies declined to publish details of their data centres.

All said, however, they considered the environment in business decisions, and most said they were aggressively pursuing energy efficiency.

  

Gee I wonder why they wouldnt tell you where their most vulnerable points are crusties? Id encourage greenpeace to take this as far as then can, full page ads calling for the stopping of the internet, after all your committed donors will stick with you right??? right?

Heres the blurb from greenpeace itself.

The iPad, internet, climate change link in the spotlight

  

The report builds on previous industry research and shows that at current growth rates data centres and telecommunication networks will consume about 1,963 billion kilowatts hours of electricity in 2020. That is more than triple their current consumption and more than the current electricity consumption of France, Germany, Canada and Brazil combined. However, the report also shows how IT can avert climate chaos by becoming a transformative force advocating for solutions that increase the use of renewable energy

 

Stock tip: Go long on coal.

For example, Facebook recently announced the construction of its own data center in Prineville, Oregon, running primarily on coal.

 

Good, that is called maximizing your business returns by reducing you outlay…

Facebook members aren’t taking this sitting down. More than 365,00 have joined groups in the weeks since Facebook’s announcement, calling on the company to quit coal and become a climate leader.

 

Now if I were head of facebook Id be offering each of those 365,000 a chance to really show their commitment by only putting up their pages for 3 hours a day, at random, and broken into random sized sets of time. Oh and the platform would only support 100,000 of them on at any one time, or the music stops and the screen goes black and white…. As committed environmentalists Im sure theyd be prepared to take one for the team….

A crusty, yesterday.

These people are crazy, and its about time some of the big companies actively told them that. They arent happy with you, no sacrifice you make will appease them, so you may as well take them on.

In addition Greenpeace, you are going to pit your ideals against the combined testosterone of millions of teenage boys…good luck with that.